DUBLIN — After more than a decade of pro-growth policies, combined with Gov. Jerry Brown”s decision to squash a $9 billion school bond measure last fall, the chickens have come home to roost for rapidly-growing East Dublin — its two middle schools are filled to near capacity, many elementary schoolchildren are spending their days in portables, and some parents are considering moving out of the city.

According to city leaders, school overcrowding, and the tidal wave of residential development exacerbating the problem, is the city”s No. 1 issue. The situation is so dire, Dublin council member Abe Gupta says he supports a moratorium on home construction until the infrastructure is in place to handle the influx.

“We need to stop allowing developers to rezone land from commercial to residential — that”s what it comes down to,” Gupta said. “We”ve had past councils that said yes to everybody, and all these units are producing children. Where are these kids going to go? We need to hit pause and study where we”re at.”

Incorporated in 1982, Dublin has grown by nearly 90 percent since 2000, making it among the fastest-growing cities in the state. Families are relocating in droves from Silicon Valley, San Francisco and elsewhere, lured by affordable and plentiful new homes and high-performing schools located within commuting distance from urban tech centers.

Gupta admits the problem will likely get worse before it gets better. The city has about 4,900 vested housing units in the pipeline, approved and waiting to be built.

The overcrowding issue is taking East Dublin by storm. Hundreds of people packed the auditorium at Fallon Middle School Monday for a heated town hall meeting with district administrators and members of the District Optimization Committee, a group of parents, educators, school board members and the school superintendent.

Margaret Liang, vice president for the Dublin Chinese Association and mother of 8-year-old twins, said she moved from Alameda to Dublin for the schools and the safety, but worries about where her kids will end up getting their education.

“Our message for the district is we need a long-term solution,” Liang said. “We feel they”re still burying their heads in the sand … Our city is growing too fast, and if they don”t stand up and say we don”t have the schools, we”ll be in for a much bigger problem down the road.”

Fallon Middle School is near its current capacity of 1,326 students and is expected to surpass that number by the next school year, according to district projections. Dublin”s other middle school, Wells, is projected to exceed its limits by 2019, as is Amador Elementary School, which doesn”t open until this August. Dublin High, the city”s only high school, has 2,044 students — about 400 short of capacity — with projections as high as 3,333 students by 2019-20.

Krishna Shanmugam, a Google employee who chose Dublin over Cupertino for the schools, voiced his concerns to the city council on Tuesday.

“I don”t see how (the district) can provide quality education and an equitable learning experience with such a large crowd,” he said. “There are 1,000-plus residents at least in the last few years (who”ve moved) to East Dublin, and it”s only continuing to grow. How can you sign off on (new) construction when you don”t have a plan for everything else?”

In March, as part of an agreement with developers and the district, the city council took the unprecedented step of gifting two parcels of land, worth about $66 million, for new schools at Jordan Ranch and Dublin Crossing. The Jordan Ranch school is expected to be built by 2019, while Dublin Crossing will have to wait for funding. In the meantime, the district is scrambling to come up with stopgap measures, such as adding portables at Fallon, making Jordan Ranch into a K-8 school, and floating the idea of boundary changes and lotteries for enrollment.

District Superintendent Stephen Hanke told council members that with no more funding and no more land, the district can”t build any more schools than are already planned, including a second high school.

“We”re planning on building schools as we have the funding to do so,” Hanke said. “The state has removed their portion of the three-legged stool, and the gap can”t be covered by developer fees alone.”

Dublin Mayor David Haubert said he supports a “de-facto moratorium” on home building until the school dilemma is solved. The council in April voted down the 372-unit Dublin Green mixed-use project, in part because developer Lennar Homes hadn”t yet secured an agreement with the district on new school funding.

“The rules of the game changed in a really unforeseen way,” Haubert said. “We”re sending the message loud and clear to the community that developers have to come up with a letter from the district that says we can accommodate your students.”

Haubert said he supports a school bond initiative for the 2016 ballot, but in the meantime, the city will continue to partner with the district to find more land.

“We are experiencing the growing pains of being a successful district,” Haubert said. “We are in a situation where the state isn”t living up to its obligations to provide education so something has to happen, and that something will be a slowing or ceasing of residential construction without the approval of the district.”

The District Optimization Committee is scheduled to meet June 15 to make its recommendations to the Dublin School Board. The board is expected to take up the issue at its June 23 meeting.

DUBLIN — After more than a decade of pro-growth policies, combined with Gov. Jerry Brown”s decision to squash a $9 billion school bond measure last fall, the chickens have come home to roost for rapidly-growing East Dublin — its two middle schools are filled to near capacity, many elementary schoolchildren are spending their days in portables, and some parents are considering moving out of the city.

According to city leaders, school overcrowding, and the tidal wave of residential development exacerbating the problem, is the city”s No. 1 issue. The situation is so dire, Dublin council member Abe Gupta says he supports a moratorium on home construction until the infrastructure is in place to handle the influx.

“We need to stop allowing developers to rezone land from commercial to residential — that”s what it comes down to,” Gupta said. “We”ve had past councils that said yes to everybody, and all these units are producing children. Where are these kids going to go? We need to hit pause and study where we”re at.”

Incorporated in 1982, Dublin has grown by nearly 90 percent since 2000, making it among the fastest-growing cities in the state. Families are relocating in droves from Silicon Valley, San Francisco and elsewhere, lured by affordable and plentiful new homes and high-performing schools located within commuting distance from urban tech centers.

Gupta admits the problem will likely get worse before it gets better. The city has about 4,900 vested housing units in the pipeline, approved and waiting to be built.

The overcrowding issue is taking East Dublin by storm. Hundreds of people packed the auditorium at Fallon Middle School Monday for a heated town hall meeting with district administrators and members of the District Optimization Committee, a group of parents, educators, school board members and the school superintendent.

Margaret Liang, vice president for the Dublin Chinese Association and mother of 8-year-old twins, said she moved from Alameda to Dublin for the schools and the safety, but worries about where her kids will end up getting their education.

“Our message for the district is we need a long-term solution,” Liang said. “We feel they”re still burying their heads in the sand … Our city is growing too fast, and if they don”t stand up and say we don”t have the schools, we”ll be in for a much bigger problem down the road.”

Fallon Middle School is near its current capacity of 1,326 students and is expected to surpass that number by the next school year, according to district projections. Dublin”s other middle school, Wells, is projected to exceed its limits by 2019, as is Amador Elementary School, which doesn”t open until this August. Dublin High, the city”s only high school, has 2,044 students — about 400 short of capacity — with projections as high as 3,333 students by 2019-20.

Krishna Shanmugam, a Google employee who chose Dublin over Cupertino for the schools, voiced his concerns to the city council on Tuesday.

“I don”t see how (the district) can provide quality education and an equitable learning experience with such a large crowd,” he said. “There are 1,000-plus residents at least in the last few years (who”ve moved) to East Dublin, and it”s only continuing to grow. How can you sign off on (new) construction when you don”t have a plan for everything else?”

In March, as part of an agreement with developers and the district, the city council took the unprecedented step of gifting two parcels of land, worth about $66 million, for new schools at Jordan Ranch and Dublin Crossing. The Jordan Ranch school is expected to be built by 2019, while Dublin Crossing will have to wait for funding. In the meantime, the district is scrambling to come up with stopgap measures, such as adding portables at Fallon, making Jordan Ranch into a K-8 school, and floating the idea of boundary changes and lotteries for enrollment.

District Superintendent Stephen Hanke told council members that with no more funding and no more land, the district can”t build any more schools than are already planned, including a second high school.

“We”re planning on building schools as we have the funding to do so,” Hanke said. “The state has removed their portion of the three-legged stool, and the gap can”t be covered by developer fees alone.”

Dublin Mayor David Haubert said he supports a “de-facto moratorium” on home building until the school dilemma is solved. The council in April voted down the 372-unit Dublin Green mixed-use project, in part because developer Lennar Homes hadn”t yet secured an agreement with the district on new school funding.

“The rules of the game changed in a really unforeseen way,” Haubert said. “We”re sending the message loud and clear to the community that developers have to come up with a letter from the district that says we can accommodate your students.”

Haubert said he supports a school bond initiative for the 2016 ballot, but in the meantime, the city will continue to partner with the district to find more land.

“We are experiencing the growing pains of being a successful district,” Haubert said. “We are in a situation where the state isn”t living up to its obligations to provide education so something has to happen, and that something will be a slowing or ceasing of residential construction without the approval of the district.”

The District Optimization Committee is scheduled to meet June 15 to make its recommendations to the Dublin School Board. The board is expected to take up the issue at its June 23 meeting.

DUBLIN — After more than a decade of pro-growth policies, combined with Gov. Jerry Brown”s decision to squash a $9 billion school bond measure last fall, the chickens have come home to roost for rapidly-growing East Dublin — its two middle schools are filled to near capacity, many elementary schoolchildren are spending their days in portables, and some parents are considering moving out of the city.

According to city leaders, school overcrowding, and the tidal wave of residential development exacerbating the problem, is the city”s No. 1 issue. The situation is so dire, Dublin council member Abe Gupta says he supports a moratorium on home construction until the infrastructure is in place to handle the influx.

“We need to stop allowing developers to rezone land from commercial to residential — that”s what it comes down to,” Gupta said. “We”ve had past councils that said yes to everybody, and all these units are producing children. Where are these kids going to go? We need to hit pause and study where we”re at.”

Incorporated in 1982, Dublin has grown by nearly 90 percent since 2000, making it among the fastest-growing cities in the state. Families are relocating in droves from Silicon Valley, San Francisco and elsewhere, lured by affordable and plentiful new homes and high-performing schools located within commuting distance from urban tech centers.

Gupta admits the problem will likely get worse before it gets better. The city has about 4,900 vested housing units in the pipeline, approved and waiting to be built.

The overcrowding issue is taking East Dublin by storm. Hundreds of people packed the auditorium at Fallon Middle School Monday for a heated town hall meeting with district administrators and members of the District Optimization Committee, a group of parents, educators, school board members and the school superintendent.

Margaret Liang, vice president for the Dublin Chinese Association and mother of 8-year-old twins, said she moved from Alameda to Dublin for the schools and the safety, but worries about where her kids will end up getting their education.

“Our message for the district is we need a long-term solution,” Liang said. “We feel they”re still burying their heads in the sand … Our city is growing too fast, and if they don”t stand up and say we don”t have the schools, we”ll be in for a much bigger problem down the road.”

Fallon Middle School is near its current capacity of 1,326 students and is expected to surpass that number by the next school year, according to district projections. Dublin”s other middle school, Wells, is projected to exceed its limits by 2019, as is Amador Elementary School, which doesn”t open until this August. Dublin High, the city”s only high school, has 2,044 students — about 400 short of capacity — with projections as high as 3,333 students by 2019-20.

Krishna Shanmugam, a Google employee who chose Dublin over Cupertino for the schools, voiced his concerns to the city council on Tuesday.

“I don”t see how (the district) can provide quality education and an equitable learning experience with such a large crowd,” he said. “There are 1,000-plus residents at least in the last few years (who”ve moved) to East Dublin, and it”s only continuing to grow. How can you sign off on (new) construction when you don”t have a plan for everything else?”

In March, as part of an agreement with developers and the district, the city council took the unprecedented step of gifting two parcels of land, worth about $66 million, for new schools at Jordan Ranch and Dublin Crossing. The Jordan Ranch school is expected to be built by 2019, while Dublin Crossing will have to wait for funding. In the meantime, the district is scrambling to come up with stopgap measures, such as adding portables at Fallon, making Jordan Ranch into a K-8 school, and floating the idea of boundary changes and lotteries for enrollment.

District Superintendent Stephen Hanke told council members that with no more funding and no more land, the district can”t build any more schools than are already planned, including a second high school.

“We”re planning on building schools as we have the funding to do so,” Hanke said. “The state has removed their portion of the three-legged stool, and the gap can”t be covered by developer fees alone.”

Dublin Mayor David Haubert said he supports a “de-facto moratorium” on home building until the school dilemma is solved. The council in April voted down the 372-unit Dublin Green mixed-use project, in part because developer Lennar Homes hadn”t yet secured an agreement with the district on new school funding.

“The rules of the game changed in a really unforeseen way,” Haubert said. “We”re sending the message loud and clear to the community that developers have to come up with a letter from the district that says we can accommodate your students.”

Haubert said he supports a school bond initiative for the 2016 ballot, but in the meantime, the city will continue to partner with the district to find more land.

“We are experiencing the growing pains of being a successful district,” Haubert said. “We are in a situation where the state isn”t living up to its obligations to provide education so something has to happen, and that something will be a slowing or ceasing of residential construction without the approval of the district.”

The District Optimization Committee is scheduled to meet June 15 to make its recommendations to the Dublin School Board. The board is expected to take up the issue at its June 23 meeting.